Jacqueline Ferrand

Jacqueline Ferrand (17 February 1918 – 26 April 2014) was a French mathematician who worked on conformal representation theory, potential theory, and Riemannian manifolds. She taught at universities in Caen, Lille, and Paris.

Early life and education

Marie Odile Jacqueline Ferrand was born in Alès, in southern France. The daughter of a classics teacher, she attended the lycée in Nîmes. Excelling in mathematics, she won the first prize in a national mathematics competition while there.

In 1936 the École Normale Supérieure in Paris began admitting women, and she was one of the first to apply and be admitted to study mathematics and science. In 1939 she and Roger Apéry placed first in the mathematics agrégation.

In June 1942, in connection with her doctorate (doctorat-es-sciences), she published two papers: "Étude de la correspondence entre les frontières dans la représentation conforme" and "Étude de la représentation conforme au voisinage de la frontière".

Contributions Ferrand undertook research in the areas of analysis and geometry, especially conformal representation (from 1942), potential theory (from 1947), and from 1955 Riemann manifolds and harmonic forms.

The thesis she defended in 1942, as well as later papers, addressed conformal transformations in relation to a neighbouring boundary point. In subsequent papers, she developed a concept she called "preholomorphic functions" as the basis of a new methodology for mathematical proofs.

Ferrand died at her home on 26 April 2014 age 96.

Legacy In 2026, Jacqueline Ferrand was announced as one of 72 historical women in STEM whose names have been proposed to be added to the 72 men already celebrated on the Eiffel Tower. The idea was conceived by a student and tour guide named Bernard Rigaud and then championed by Nathalie Drach-Temam, the President of Sorbonne University. The plan was announced by the Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo following the recommendations of a committee led by Isabelle Vauglin of Femmes et Sciences and Jean-François Martins, representing the operating company which runs the Eiffel Tower.